January 10, 2016

So, it’s a new year. Did you make any resolutions? Whether yours is self improvement, money, relationship, weight loss, or something more obscure, they can be a great motivator. A helpful reminder to try to be the best you you can be. Something to aspire to, to reach for, throughout the year. Yes, resolutions can be a great thing.

Until they’re not. All too often, they become another weapon our subconscious uses to against us in its ongoing battle for our psyche. Another stick to club ourselves with. You know what I mean. That little voice that pipes up after you’ve had that cigarette you resolved not to, or that last doughnut from the break room after you promised yourself you wouldn’t. We are our own worst enemies when it comes to following through on resolutions. And we convince ourselves that we are the outcast here, that everyone else is having a cakewalk.

BUT WAIT! Did you know that a quarter of all resolutions never make it out of the first week of the year? One in four don’t make last seven days. And over half of them are abandoned within six months. Think about that. In fact, do you know how many resolutions are actually kept for a full year?

Eight percent.

That means ninety-two percent of us ‘failed’ in our resolutions. Those little missteps? Yeah, that’s normal. Let me say it again: YOU ARE NORMAL. So you slipped. So what? You got tomorrow to do better. That’s what my resolution is: to be. That’s it. I resolve to be. And trust that any changes I make, any slips I have don’t make me a failure; they make me human. And I can live with that.